Renault will make a decision on its participation in Formula 1 in the future before the end of 2009, the French car maker said on Thursday.On the same day Toyota announced it is quitting the sport with immediate effect, Renault held an extraordinary board meeting to discuss its future plans, amid reports that it could also leave grand prix racing.

On Thursday, Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn did not clear any doubts about the French manufacturer’s future involvement, just stating that Renault will make a decision before the end of the year.

“You will have to be patient,” Ghosn was quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency as telling reporters in Paris.

“We will make an announcement on our participation in Formula 1 before the end of the year.”

Renault is, together with Ferrari, the only full manufacturer team left in Formula 1 following the exits of Honda, BMW and Toyota over the last 12 months.

Toyota has announced that it is to pull out of Formula 1 with immediate effect.The Japanese car company revealed its surprise decision in a news conference in Tokyo today following an earlier board meeting. It said the current economic situation had prompted its departure.

“Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announces it plans to withdraw from the FIA Formula 1 world championship at the end of the 2009 season,” said a Toyota statement.

“TMC, which had viewed its participation in F1 as contributing to the prosperity of automotive culture, remained dedicated to competing at the pinnacle of motor sports even in the face of the abrupt economic changes that started last year.

“However, when considering TMC’s motorsports actitives next year and beyond from a comprehensive mid-term viewpoint reflecting the current severe economic realities, TMC decided to withdraw from F1″

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Once a brake problem slowed McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel had no competition in Sunday evening’s inaugural day/night Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. A brilliant win cemented his second place in the drivers’ world championship behind Brawn GP’s Jenson Button, who enlivened the end of the race with a superb challenge to the second-placed Red Bull of Mark Webber in the closing stages.

Hamilton led from pole and built a lead of 1.4s when he refuelled on the 17th lap. Vettel was able to run until the 20th, and emerged comfortably in the lead. Soon afterwards Hamilton’s challenge ended when McLaren had to withdraw his car after the telemetry revealed a problem with the right rear brake pads which were suffering from excessive wear.

Webber thus moved up to second, with Button at that stage a distant third ahead of Brawn GP team mate Rubens Barrichello. The Brazilian had run ahead of the Englishman on the opening lap but clipped Webber’s left-rear wheel with the right-hand endplate of his front wing, causing understeer. Button overtook, and chased after Webber while, at one stage, unsuccessfully fending off impressive rookie Kamui Kobayashi, until the Toyota driver finally refuelled.

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Heikki Kovalainen is set to receive a five-place grid penalty from the Yas Marina race stewards after McLaren decided his car needed a new gearbox following Saturday’s qualifying. Kovalainen, who had qualified in 13th, will now start Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from 18th.

The Finn had looked strong during practice and the early stages of qualifying, but as he was preparing for his fast laps in Q2 his MP4-24 was struck by transmission problems.

“What a disappointing outcome to my qualifying,” said Kovalainen. “I got stuck in second gear during Q2 and that was it. I already had minor problems with the gearbox yesterday when it jumped out of gear, so it’s frustrating when you have a car you can easily take into Q3.

“But I’m looking at the positives: the balance of my car has been good throughout the entire weekend, and it’s been great to drive on this fantastic circuit. You can absolutely guarantee I’ll be giving it my all in the race tomorrow and I’ll be fighting from the first lap to the very last.”

Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel came alive for Red Bull in the dying moments of the final qualifying session of 2009, but McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton kept his nerve and ultimately decimated their chances of taking pole position for the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with a lap of 1m 40.948s on Saturday evening. Vettel had moments before beaten Webber’s 1m 41.726s best with 1m 41.615s.

Behind them, Rubens Barrichello finally got ahead of Brawn team mate Jenson Button as they lapped respectively in 1m 41.786s and 1m 41.892s, while Jarno Trulli was also in contention for Toyota with 1m 41.897s.

Behind them the BMW Saubers annexed the fourth row of the grid, with Robert Kubica on 1m 41.992s and Nick Heidfeld on 1m 42.343s. Williams’ Nico Rosberg and Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi will share row five, with 1m 42.583s and 1m 42.713s respectively.

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